1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to cutting devices and, more specifically, to an Improved Ground Cover Cutter.
2. Description of Related Art
Bark and wood chips have long been used by landscapers and home gardeners as decorative textured cover for bare soil and for mulch for plants. Such ground cover is desirable for soil conservation, water retention, weed suppression, and protection from the heat of the sun and from extreme cold. The common commercial ground covers in use today are made from redwood bark or wood chips. While these materials are attractive and perform the various functions reasonably well, they are also expensive and therefore not very economical. Further, and particularly in the case of wood chips, they are not necessarily environmentally friendly because they deplete the soil of nitrogen and generate acetic acid. What would be as attractive, more economical, and more beneficial from an environmental standpoint would be using ground cover material made from the home garden green waste, if such plant material could be efficiently cut to a size suitable for such purposes. What is needed, therefore, is a cutter that is specifically configured to provide this ground cover.
Other cutters known as chippers or shredders have been available for processing green waste, however, they don't really fill the aforementioned need, since the main idea behind the chipper or shredder is to significantly reduce the volume of the material being processed as an aid in disposal. The main problem with the end product of the shredder or chipper is that such finely chopped, highly condensed material does not make a desirable ground cover material because it mats down and smothers the soil. What is needed, therefore, is a cutter that will cut otherwise undesirable plant waste matter into pieces that are large enough to be suitable for use as ground cover.
Another common problem with the shredder or chipper is that fibery, wet, and hard gummy waste materials are difficult, if not impossible, for these machines to process. Most shredders and chippers employ a perforated screen to keep the work material in a chopping or processing chamber until it is small enough to pass through. A common problem is the clogging of the screen and the chopping chamber when processing such materials. Another common problem is that there is no clearing mechanism for removing the clogged material. What is needed, therefore, is a cutter that can process fibery, wet, and hard gummy material without employing a screen and further that has a mechanism for clearing clogged material.
Another common problem with the shredder or chipper is that these devices discharge the product onto the ground, resulting in the need to collect the product for disposal. What is needed, therefore, is a cutter designed to be used over a receptacle so that there is no need to collect the product off the ground upon completion of the cutting step.
Another common problem with the chipper or shredder is that it is usually a large, heavy, gasoline-powered machine that exposes the user to loud noise, exhaust, dust and grit and harsh vibration. What is needed, therefore, is a compact, highly portable, cutter that does not expose the user to excessively loud noise, exhaust, harsh vibration or excessive dust and grit.
The long-standing but heretofore unfulfilled need for a compact, highly portable, non-polluting cutter for producing suitable ground cover material from home garden green waste having the desirable features of a noise- and dust-reducing case, ability to cut fibery and hard, wet, gummy material without exposing the user to harsh vibration, a clearing mechanism, and the ability to be used over a receptacle, is now fulfilled by the invention disclosed hereinafter and summarized as follows.